Tuna tackle
- Thread starter Sculpin
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Birdsnest
Well-Known Member
10 feet is just fine, so is 8 feet but I would not go less than 6. I suggest running splasher in front of every lure. Not so much for the splashing but it puts tension on your line which reduces cross overs in a breeze and when making turns.
eriks
Active Member
Thx to Tunadon for posting the link to the article on the BD site. There was a good article on drag settings on BD. Last year we lost many a tuna to what I suspect was really an issue of too much drag. Do you guys use a scale to set your drag? If so, what is the range you like to be in?
Tidal Chaos
Active Member
I tried the scale method last year and ended up ditching it and going back to self setting my drags; we set all our drags at 12 lb strike as recommended by a few websites; but once we had fish on full drag on our avets wasn't slowing them down; and to properly set your drag you need to take the drag completely off and then adjust; not easily done while playing a tuna that is doing 30 mph; so I have set most of my reels just by feel at strike. Nothing worse than trying to slow down a longfin when you hit your backing and can not; then the ol' thumb on the spool comes into play and starts to burn after a while. If you are using star drag reels; you will have them maxed out once you are fighting a fish and will burn them up within a few trips; all my okuma and penn reels that I use for hali got set aside last year for repair as the drags were burned up. Get yourself some good reels if you don't already have them; they will last and put up with the abuse and strain they will endure while fighting these fish.
I can't say we lost any fish due to our reels and drag not being set up; just some long hard fights and fish lost at the boat from lack of knowledge of how these fish react or don't react from your typical fish. Gong show to say the least while fighting and trying to land multiple fish at the same time!
Dogbreath
Well-Known Member
It's easy to install Carbontex drag washers in any reel now/use some grease from Cal's and you're good to go-Smoothdrag sells the grease as well as the washers.
http://www.smoothdrag.com/
Alan Tani's site has tutorials on how to service many reels
http://alantani.com/
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Dogbreath
Well-Known Member
If you still don't have enough skirts have a look @ what Cape May Tackle has on offer-outstanding deals on ball bearing swivels too.
http://shop.cmtackle.com/
http://shop.cmtackle.com/
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
A good post from the ifish forum.........
"At this time of year we're all fired up about tuna, and there's a lot of chatter about all the gear needed for a successful trip - outriggers, bait tanks, lever-drag reels, multiple copies of lures, iron...the list goes on.
But if you're just starting out, you don't need all this stuff. In fact you can probably use much of what you already have. And you can get what you don't have on the cheap. Don't let the lack of gear keep you from tuna!
Here is a list of things you DON'T really need.
* Live bait tank
* Dead bait
* Outriggers
* Expensive rods and reels
* Iron
Bait, live or dead, is not at all necessary, nor is it especially advisable for newcomers. In fact, bait has only become fashionable in the last few years in Oregon. Many (if not most) boats don't use bait of any sort.
You do need at least 3 trolling outfits (total for the boat) capable of handling 30, 40 or 60 pound line, with decent drags. Sturgeon outfits generally work fine. If you have to buy these, get Penn 113H reels ($60 used on ebay, twice that new) or Penn 500s ($30 used on ebay, twice that new) and fill with 40# or 30# mono respectively. You might have to replace the drag washers on used reels. Daiwa Sealines are also good. Small levelwind salmon reels - not so much.
If you're using existing reels, put a 150 foot mono topshot on top of your braid, 30 or 40#. Lots of guys use 50 to 80 pound line, which is fine too.
Rods can be almost any medium-heavy stick in the 7 foot range. You can use salmon rods in a pinch, but they are too long and too whippy. Garage-sale sticks capable of handlng 30, 40, or 60# line work fine. One of my favorites is a 1950s vintage solid-glass stick with a wooden handle...cheap and indescructible. If you're buying new, consider the Ugly Stick Tigers for $60 a copy.
If you have heavy spinning tackle (30 pound class or above), that works fine for trolling as well. Stay away from the 10 foot surf rods, but any stout 7 or 8 foot stick will work.
For trolling lures, a hundred dollar bill gets you started.
* one cedar plug, 7", natural color.....$12
* two Rapala Xrap magnum diving plugs, size 20, bonito, spotted minnow, blue sardine, green mackerel color (or any color mostly blue or green).....$20 each
* three clone-type lures. These are the classic lead-head trolling lures made by Zuker, Sevenstrand, Sumo and others. Get the smaller sizes, around 6 inches long. Get one Zuchinni color, one Mexican Flag color, and one purple/black color.....$12 each rigged
* Swimbaits, a half-dozen 1.5 ounce heads, and a dozen tails in Channel Island Chovy, green/white, black white
That's it!
Troll this stuff at 5 to 7 knots, about 30 to 60 feet behind the boat. Run some lures closer, some farther. Don't worry about fancy spread patterns. Experiment with trolling speed and distance behind the boat.
If you find the fish (which is 90% of the battle), you're likely to catch a few on the troll with this gear. You might also catch a lot.
This stuff will work well in July and August. After that tuna can get finicky and trollng doesn't work as well. That's a whole other discussion. So is boating safety and navigation.
Don't let fishing gear be a barrier...you don't need much and it isn't rocket science".
......anyway thought it was a good post for those just starting out and don't want to invest a ton of money into this fishery unlike some of us
.
"At this time of year we're all fired up about tuna, and there's a lot of chatter about all the gear needed for a successful trip - outriggers, bait tanks, lever-drag reels, multiple copies of lures, iron...the list goes on.
But if you're just starting out, you don't need all this stuff. In fact you can probably use much of what you already have. And you can get what you don't have on the cheap. Don't let the lack of gear keep you from tuna!
Here is a list of things you DON'T really need.
* Live bait tank
* Dead bait
* Outriggers
* Expensive rods and reels
* Iron
Bait, live or dead, is not at all necessary, nor is it especially advisable for newcomers. In fact, bait has only become fashionable in the last few years in Oregon. Many (if not most) boats don't use bait of any sort.
You do need at least 3 trolling outfits (total for the boat) capable of handling 30, 40 or 60 pound line, with decent drags. Sturgeon outfits generally work fine. If you have to buy these, get Penn 113H reels ($60 used on ebay, twice that new) or Penn 500s ($30 used on ebay, twice that new) and fill with 40# or 30# mono respectively. You might have to replace the drag washers on used reels. Daiwa Sealines are also good. Small levelwind salmon reels - not so much.
If you're using existing reels, put a 150 foot mono topshot on top of your braid, 30 or 40#. Lots of guys use 50 to 80 pound line, which is fine too.
Rods can be almost any medium-heavy stick in the 7 foot range. You can use salmon rods in a pinch, but they are too long and too whippy. Garage-sale sticks capable of handlng 30, 40, or 60# line work fine. One of my favorites is a 1950s vintage solid-glass stick with a wooden handle...cheap and indescructible. If you're buying new, consider the Ugly Stick Tigers for $60 a copy.
If you have heavy spinning tackle (30 pound class or above), that works fine for trolling as well. Stay away from the 10 foot surf rods, but any stout 7 or 8 foot stick will work.
For trolling lures, a hundred dollar bill gets you started.
* one cedar plug, 7", natural color.....$12
* two Rapala Xrap magnum diving plugs, size 20, bonito, spotted minnow, blue sardine, green mackerel color (or any color mostly blue or green).....$20 each
* three clone-type lures. These are the classic lead-head trolling lures made by Zuker, Sevenstrand, Sumo and others. Get the smaller sizes, around 6 inches long. Get one Zuchinni color, one Mexican Flag color, and one purple/black color.....$12 each rigged
* Swimbaits, a half-dozen 1.5 ounce heads, and a dozen tails in Channel Island Chovy, green/white, black white
That's it!
Troll this stuff at 5 to 7 knots, about 30 to 60 feet behind the boat. Run some lures closer, some farther. Don't worry about fancy spread patterns. Experiment with trolling speed and distance behind the boat.
If you find the fish (which is 90% of the battle), you're likely to catch a few on the troll with this gear. You might also catch a lot.
This stuff will work well in July and August. After that tuna can get finicky and trollng doesn't work as well. That's a whole other discussion. So is boating safety and navigation.
Don't let fishing gear be a barrier...you don't need much and it isn't rocket science".
......anyway thought it was a good post for those just starting out and don't want to invest a ton of money into this fishery unlike some of us
.
the fog ducker
Well-Known Member
thx John , great post
totally agree , not rocket science from the guys ive spoken too ,
having all the stars align !! is the hardest thing holding most back , n safety !!
might giver a go soon too
fd
totally agree , not rocket science from the guys ive spoken too ,
having all the stars align !! is the hardest thing holding most back , n safety !!
might giver a go soon too
fd
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
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Dogbreath
Well-Known Member
You don't need chafing springs for Albies 80# leader replaced regularly isn't going to chafe through.
Even a simple overhand knot will work just put it through twice.
The season is just about done (but never say never!), there was lots of talk about tackle this spring and summer. What was worth it's weight in gold and what did you waste your money on?
There was lots of talk about the small plastic birds and chains of birds this spring, did they produce?
Our best producer this year was the normal zuchini clone, probably outfished the purple & black for the first year during Aug and early Sept. We had good luck at the end of the season towing the natural cedar plugs, x rap 15's and some old white/red feathers very long (150 ft+).
Planer boards (first year dragging them) produced. They would get bit, and typically it was the long line down the middle would go also.
The hot x-rap was the new silver with light purple on top.
Anyone else?
There was lots of talk about the small plastic birds and chains of birds this spring, did they produce?
Our best producer this year was the normal zuchini clone, probably outfished the purple & black for the first year during Aug and early Sept. We had good luck at the end of the season towing the natural cedar plugs, x rap 15's and some old white/red feathers very long (150 ft+).
Planer boards (first year dragging them) produced. They would get bit, and typically it was the long line down the middle would go also.
The hot x-rap was the new silver with light purple on top.
Anyone else?
My tuna season this year was not so great. We never put more than seven on the boat in one trip. Late in the season, I couldn't buy a bite on my clones or X-raps. Swim baits were something I tried on those days and those were my best late season producers. The swim baits were nice in that they would often produce while we're were slowed down and reeling in another fish. I'll be adding more to my gear over the winter and fishing them more next season.
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
Thought I would bring this one back to life.
Getting jiggy with it
.The four jigs in the center are all the same. I just flipped two over to show the glow paint on the other side.
I really liked the sumo trolling lures we used last year and I hope these work well and hold up. They seem to make quality tackle.
Post up any new tackle or idea's for the coming season......
Chuck
Active Member
View attachment 27734
Thought I would bring this one back to life.
Getting jiggy with it
The four jigs in the center are all the same. I just flipped two over to show the glow paint on the other side.
I really liked the sumo trolling lures we used last year and I hope these work well and hold up. They seem to make quality tackle.
Post up any new tackle or idea's for the coming season......
Sculpin, are you trolling the Sumo JR's and C2's that you posted or casting/jigging them into the schools of Albies?? Also, can you post a pic of the Sumo trolling lures you mentioned if they are different than the posted lures??
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
I'll be using these ones for jigging on stops. I got a couple of larger ones for trying to get down deep. I really want to try for some larger fish this year. We had a lot of fun last year trying the chunking and jig stops.
Their jet head trolling lures are the ones we used for trolling last year. They leave a wicked bubble trail.
You can go to their website and check out all their tackle.
http://www.sumotackle.com
Birdsnest
Well-Known Member
I picked these up a Canadian tire. The smallest one on top is only 2 inches long and the next smallest are 3 inches. It seems that so much of the feed that the long fins eat where I fish is tiny so I will be trying smaller baits especially when the fish get picky. If the season is good like last year was I may try getting them on a cast fly trying small krill patterns, baitfish and or squid patterns. It will have to be a good year to get into that.
I learned last year that if there out there and their chompin you can get them on the jigs and its a blast!
I learned last year that if there out there and their chompin you can get them on the jigs and its a blast!
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Aces
Well-Known Member
And the addiction continues
Birdsnest
Well-Known Member
Did you get open faced spinning reels?
They are super fun to catch tuna with. I have one but my friend and I both receive identical cuts on our finger from the 80 lb braid. I think what happens is when the bail is open and you hook up you have to flip the bail and the line runs on your finger before it seats in the roller. Its really fun on those reels but I will wear gloves when using mine. The thing is by far the best casting setup on my boat so worth having although I generally am dropping gear right under the boat.
Maybe the shootout should consider a stopped boat category. It may be a way to get "the big one" in the cooler green water on the way out.
They are super fun to catch tuna with. I have one but my friend and I both receive identical cuts on our finger from the 80 lb braid. I think what happens is when the bail is open and you hook up you have to flip the bail and the line runs on your finger before it seats in the roller. Its really fun on those reels but I will wear gloves when using mine. The thing is by far the best casting setup on my boat so worth having although I generally am dropping gear right under the boat.
Maybe the shootout should consider a stopped boat category. It may be a way to get "the big one" in the cooler green water on the way out.
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